Improved apparatus foe the preparation and administration of nitrous oxide gas



A. LESLIE. Preparing and Administering Nitrous Oxide Gas.

WITNESS 5 @225 E u PEI'ERS. muu m, Washington. D r;

paint time igatrnt @ffite A. M. LESLIE, OF ST. LOUIS MISSOURI.

Letters Patent 1V0. 64,431, dated llfa 7, 1867; antcclated Aprz'Z'fB,1867.

IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR THE PREPARATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF NITROUSOXIDE GAS.

TO ALI; WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: 7

Be itknown that I, A. M. LESLIE, of the city and county of St. Louis,have invented a new Apparatus for the Preparation and Administration ofNitrous Oxide Gas; and I do hereby declare that the following is a fulland clear description thcreofireferencc being had to the accompanyingdrawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon. I

This invention has for its object a more perfect connection between thediilerent vessels which are usod'for the generation, purification, andstorage of nitrous oxide gas as at present employed by surgeons anddentists to administer to patients during painful operations. Thisinvention also relates to an inhaler by means of which the exhalationsof the patient may escape into the open air and not back into thegas-holder, where the carbonic acid gasof such exhalations would tend toaffect the purity of the nitrous oxide in a doleterious-m'anncr. Thedetails of the first part of the invention refer to a peculiar form ofcover for the jars which areiused as purifiers, and also the tubingconnecting the same, and the manner of packing the tubing and thecovers. The details also refer to a peculiar combination of the vesselsso as to render them portable.

To enable those skilled in the art to make and use my improvedapparatus, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

Figure 1 of the drawings represents a sectional elevation of theimproved apparatus.

Figure 2 is a plan of the cover of one of the jars.

A B C are a series of vessels, the number of which may be increasedindefinitely. The first of these, A, we will call the generator. Thesecond, B, we will call the purifiers or washers, (there should be threeor four, more or less, of these,) and the last one, C, we will call thereceptacle or holder. In apparatus of this kind it has heretofore beenthe custourto connect the different vessels of the series together bymeans of glass tubes, the said-tubes being passed through orifices madein the cork stoppers of the jars and then cemented with wax, so as tomake the connection air-tight. This arrangement was exceedinglytroublesome and untidy owing to the wax packing, which had to bereplaced every time the jars werewashed or cleansed. In lieu of theconncction and of the cork stoppers, I use metallic cans, as'rcpresentedin the drawings, or, what is more simple still, I take fruit-preservingcans of the variety patented by J. I). Willoughby, January 4, 1859, orW. W. Lyman, August 5, 1862. In the case of the metallic cans it will benecessary to coat the interior of them with japan, shellac, wax, or somesimilar substance to prevent injurious action on the metal by thecontents of the jars. The covers of these metal cans will have flanges,a, which will fit down into an annular groove formed on the top edge ofthe cylindrical sides, and into this groove molten wax may be poured soas to. make a tight connection between the parts. This is only onevariation of the fruit-cans now in use. In the case of using glass jars,such as are at present in use, and covered by the patents alreadyalluded to, the covers are provided with rubber packing to form anair-tight joint between the metallic cap and glass neck of thejar. Now,into any of these caps or covers, of whatever form they maybe, I maketwo perforations of say one-half an inch in diameter, more or less. Intoeach of these orifices I place a. short tube, 6, allowing it to projecta quarter to half an inch, more or less, oneach side of the cover orcap, and then solder these parts so as to form a perfectly tight jointbetween them. I then pass India-rubber tubes, D, through these shorttubes 6, which now serve as stuffing-boxes, and the rubber tubing servesfor the induction and eduction pipes for each of the jars. Within eachof the rubber tubes I place a short glass tube, 11, the length of whichis about equal to the lengthof the tube 6, and the bore of it should beabout the same as the bore of the rubber tubing. This short piece ofglass tubing can easily be worked along within the rubber tube until itis made to occupy that part of the latter which will come directlywithin the tube 6 when all the parts are in place. The rubber tube willthen be inserted within the tube 6 and stretched in both directionsuntil the part of it which contains the glass tube is drawn within thetube 6, when it will be left free to its own contraction, and the glasstube will then expel the rubber out tightly against the interior of thetube 6, and thereby form a perfectly tight connection between theseparts. The only care that need be taken as to the relative proportionsof the sizes of the parts 6 D OZ is, that the rubber can easily bepassed through the tube b, and that the glass tube is large enough toexpel it out tightly thereto when once the parts are placed. togethor.-By using the patented fruit-cans and this form'of connecting pipe a verysimple and neat arrangement of gas generator and purifier can beproduced that will be of great benefit,

especially to those dentists and surgeons who use nitrous oxide gas. Therubber tubes 1) thatnre to serve for induction pipes to each jar are tobe taken down to the bottom of the water, so that the gas escaping fromthem will be forced to rise up through the water and thereby becomewashed and cleansed. The generator A may be a glass retort, which isfitted to a frame or stand, A, when it is to be heated by means of aspirit lamp. This generator and its lamp and stand may be constructed sothey can be placed inside of the smallest one of the jars B, and wherethese jars are made of metal, as represented in the drawings, theyshould be made of dii'l'erent sizes, so that the smaller ones will fitinside of the larger ones, and in this manner the whole arrangement maybe packed into a very compact space. The holder C may be f rmed of asimple India-rubber bag, or it may be made in the form of a gasometer,but as there is nothing of especial importance about this it will not beminutely described. From the holder C the gas is to be conducted in atube, D, to the inhaler E, which is usually constructed of hard rubber.It is little more than a tube, one end of which is corrugated to receivethe tube D, and the other end is widened out so as to fit easily intothe mouth of the patient. There is a stop'cock, E, which may be turnedso as to shut. the gas oil 0' so as to let it pass through to the mouthof the patient. A detail drawing exhibits the internal arrangement ofthis stopcock. It has a longitudinal orifice, as well as a transverseone; the transverse opening through it being to continue the opening ofthe piece E through it when turned in the proper direction. There is asmall valve, 0, fitted to, the interior of the stop-cock so as to coverits transverse orifice, and there is a valve, 6, fitted to cover thesmall orifice made through the top of the stop-cock and communicatingwith the cavity Within it. Both of these valves may be made of smallbits of India rubber, and the one marked e may be pushed down inside ofthe cock-piece when not in use or not needed. The action of these valvesis as follows: The nitrous oxide will flow through the valve 0 towardthe month of the patient as he fills the lungs, and then, as theexhalation commences, it will close the valve (1 and force the valve eopen so as to escape throughit. It will readily be seen that these twovalves are so hung as to continue to repeat these motions as long as theinhalations and exhalations are continued, and the patient will therebybe enabled to breathe pure nitrous oxide and discharge the vitiatedbreath into the open air.

Having described my invention, what I claim, is-

1. The combination and arrangement of the tubes 5, in the cap of thejar, and the tubes D and d, substantially as herein described and setforth.

2. I claim the employment of the Lidia-rubber tubes D for connecting thedifferentjars together, and these to the generator and receiver, and forconducting the gas down through the water.

3. I claim the portable apparatus A B, when constructed and employedsubstantially as herein described and set forth. 7

4. I claim the inhaler E, when constructed With the valves 0 and e.

A. M. LESLIE.

Witnesses:

M. RANDOLPH,

$. M. RANDOLPH.

